Sprint in as city of Houston’s wireless provider

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) ? Sprint Nextel Corp. said Wednesday that has become the city of Houston’s wireless service provider, taking over for AT&T Inc., which had been the service provider there for decades.

Sprint said that under the deal ? which it believes will be worth $15 million over five years ? it will furnish cellphones and data services for the majority of the city’s departments. The deal includes more than 6,000 wireless devices and 10,000 wireless service activations, the company said.

Houston’s mayor, Annise Parker, said the city expected “Sprint to save the city’s taxpayers nearly $3 million, due to the company’s efficiency.”